One of my very favorite places in all of Provo is Taste. Imagine a ritzy café with cozy yesteryear vibes, but with an actual chocolate factory attached, where they make their own artisanal chocolate bars. It’s extremely close to where I live, and exactly the kind of niche place I cannot get enough of.
Taste makes their own—award-winning chocolate bars in-house, but they also have a wall of artisan chocolate bars from all over the world. Choosing just one bar can be difficult (which is why we often don’t succeed). They also offer a cafe menu with uncommon sandwiches, soups, chocolate-based desserts, and largely chocolate-based, drinks. You can also try some de-alcoholized wines, or drinking vinegars.
If you’re looking for special meal experiences, Taste has you covered: from English Tea Times, to Fondue Nights; Chocolate (or Chocolate + Cheese, or Chocolate + Drinking Vinegar) Tastings.
The first time I visited Taste was shortly after they opened. Our good friend decided to celebrate his birthday there with a chocolate tasting. To say it was enlightening, or life-changing is completely true. As a child, I didn’t even like chocolate that much. Eventually, I grew to like some, but I was never crazy about it (like my husband is). After experiencing Taste, I am probably considered a chocoholic (see my post on Crio Bru, and the fact that I go to Taste most weeks).
Once we moved back to Provo years later, we started visiting Taste when we were in the mood for a good chocolate bar, but it wasn’t until our old hot chocolate place closed down, and we got tired of the middling hot chocolate at other local establishments, that we started frequenting it. One we were hooked on the hot chocolate, we were regulars, coming in for drinks, or chocolates.
Still, it was a couple of years later, when my parents were able to watch the kids, that Todd and I went on a date to have Taste’s Tea Time. I’d fantasized about going for a while, but at that point we had two kids, and that was a bit much to do such a fancy meal. When the food first came out, I remember thinking it was so little, but by the top tier, we couldn’t even finish it all! It was then that I first tried their iced chocolate. We left delighted, and I have since gone to their Mother’s Day tea time + chocolate + vinegar tasting; taken my mom as a christmas gift; again with Todd for our anniversary; and with our best friends for our big, combined birthday party this year.
Last summer, I was entirely bewitched by the iced chocolate (or as we call them, “cold chocolates”), and we went 1-3 times a week just for that. Was it a problem? Probably a little bit. But I really, really love them.
At this point, we’ve tried a lot of the regular café menu items, and drinks (recently, Gwendolyn enjoyed trying the sipping chocolate).
Overall, it’s such a unique place with outstanding food. No matter what you go to Taste for, you’re bound to leave happy. I still have yet to do a fondue night, or a chocolate + cheese tasting (they are often during children’s bedtime, so, we’ve still got a bit to wait, I’m afraid) left to mark off my bucket-list.
If you’ve in Provo, it’s one of my top 3 places I recommend (insist?) you visit.
Have you been to Taste? What’s your favourite thing to get?
